BBC World News Interview with Dr. Vandana Shiva
Posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
continue readingHow food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grab
Posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
Original post: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/07/food-water-africa-land-grab
We turned off the main road to Awassa, talked our way past security guards and drove a mile across empty land before we found what will soon be Ethiopia’s largest greenhouse. Nestling below an escarpment of the Rift Valley, the development is far from finished, but the plastic and steel structure already stretches over 20 hectares – the size of 20 football pitches.
The farm manager shows us millions of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables being grown in 500m rows in computer controlled conditions. Spanish engineers are building the steel structure, Dutch technology minimises water use from two bore-holes and 1,000 women pick and pack 50 tonnes of food a day. Within 24 hours, it has been driven 200 miles to Addis Ababa and flown 1,000 miles to the shops and restaurants of Dubai, Jeddah and elsewhere in the Middle East.
continue readingBan Bt Crops
Posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
We Need a Ban on Bt crops in light of Monsanto admitting that BT cotton has failed to control the Bollworm.
The public hearings on Bt Brinjal organised by the Ministry of Environment led to a Moratorium on BT Brinjal. The Moratorium is already under threat, with the Agriculture Minister and the Minister of Science and Technology trying to put pressure on the Prime Minister to allow the commercialisation of BT Brinjal by Monsanto and Mahyco.
continue readingArchitecture of Food Dictatorship
Posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010
The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill 2009
By Dr. Vandana Shiva
On 9th February, the Environment Minister of India Jairam Ramesh announced a Moratorium on Bt. Brinjal as a result of public hearings organised across the country. The democratic voice of the people of India and of independent scientists was a clear “No” to Bt. Brinjal and to GM foods. People’s voice was joined by the voice of the States, exercising their right under the Constitution under which Agriculture is a State subject.
There is now an attempt to silence the voice of independent science and democracy and institutionalize an architecture of dictatorship through the proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2009.
continue readingDevelopers cannot be Regulators
Posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010
The Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2009 is nothing but a proposal for deepening the Regulatory Chaos and the Crisis Created by Conflict of Interest
By Dr. Vandana Shiva
The proposed Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill of India, 2009 (BRAI) which is a new version of the older National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, 2008 is a recipe for deepening the regulatory chaos as well as deepening the crisis created by conflict of interest issues related to issues of genetic engineering
continue readingDismantling Democracy, Science and the Public Interest to put GMO’s on Fast Track
Posted on Thursday, February 18th, 2010
Reflections on the Proposed National Biotechlogy Regulatory Authorigy (NBRA) and National Biotechnology Regulatory Bill, 2008
By Dr. Vandana Shiva
Genetically Engineered Organisms (GMOs) are transgenic organisms made by introducing genes across species boundaries. Thus Bt. Cotton, or Bt. Rice or Bt. Brinjal has genes for a toxin taken from a soil bacteria and put into the food crop. In addition, GMO’s use anti-biotic resistance markets, viral promoters and cancer genes as vectors. These new genes can have risks for public health and the environment. Ensuring safety in the context of genetically engineered organisms is referred to as Biosafety.
continue readingVideo on the Health Implications of Bt Technology
Posted on Friday, February 12th, 2010
The Moratorium on Bt Brinjal is an invitation to further educate yourself about the implications of Bt crops and other genetically modified foods. Watch the video below to hear Dr.Vandana Shiva (Navdanya/Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology) and Mira Shiva (Doctors for Food Safety and Biosafety) highlight a few of the specific hazards of GMOs.
continue readingNavdanya Announces International GMO Conference in New Delhi
Posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
Indian Minister of Environment Heeds Public Call for a Moratorium on Bt Brinjal
Posted on Wednesday, February 10th, 2010
After nearly a month of public hearings, protests, and nationwide debate, India’s Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh announced today an indefinite moratorium on the sale of Bt Brinjal (genetically modified eggplant). Cleared for commercialisation in October by India’s Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC), Bt Brinjal has been met with tremendous resistance by farmers, consumer advocacy groups, medical experts, and environmentalists. A number of state governments, which in India’s federal system have the final say on agriculture, have also expressed apprehension about the product. Ten states—West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar (which together produce 60 percent of the country’s eggplant), Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Uttarakhand—have already declared bans on genetically modified crops.
What Salt was to India’s Freedom Movement in 1930, Brinjal is to Defense of India’s Freedom in 2010 The Government of Kerala Leads the Way – article by Dr. Vandana Shiva
Posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010
On 2-3 February, 2010 a high level national conference on Genetically Modified (GM) Crops – Merits and Demerits was organized by the Government of Kerala in Trivandrum.